Rosemary District residents grill developers over apartment plans

Sarasota city plan and zoning code would have to be changed before hundreds of units could be built.

By IAN CUMMINGS

Rosemary District residents grilled a group of developers this week about plans for an apartment complex that would require zoning changes in their neighborhood.

The group, Rosalyne Holdings, LLC, called the meeting Tuesday at City Hall to discuss plans for an apartment complex on Cocoanut Avenue, between 10th Street and Boulevard of the Arts.

Residents had questions about the building proposal itself, but also about how the plan could transform the neighborhood. The two four-story buildings proposed would include as many as 450 units in an area that, under the current rules, can house only about 150 people.

To make that possible, the developers want to change the city plan and zoning code that govern the Rosemary District.

Some owners and operators of businesses in the neighborhood welcomed the creation of an overlay district in the neighborhood. The district, reaching from Fruitville Road north to 10th Street, and from Cocoanut Avenue east to North Orange Avenue, would allow the maximum allowable density on individual properties to increase from 25 homes per acre to 75. The total density of the district would remain the same under the plan.

Sarasota attorney Bill Merill, representing Rosalyne Holdings, said the group sought an overlay district beyond their building project because some felt there was a need for more dense population in the area to support nearby businesses.

“This area is vitally important to downtown,” Merill said.

Some representatives from local businesses, just outside the proposed district, suggested expanding it to include their properties too.

But other residents voiced skepticism. Some worried that the new apartment buildings would impact them directly, while others questioned the long-term impact of the zoning changes.

“It happens to be right outside my window and, frankly, I don't like the idea,” said Paul Cassidy, who lives near Cocoanut Avenue. “There are a lot of other implications — for example, traffic.”

Other complaints centered on noise, light pollution, parking conflicts, the aesthetic appearance of the building, and the disruptive influence of “younger people” moving in.

A few residents questioned whether allowing increased density of one property in the district would rob potential from others. If the district as a whole remained under the same density limit, then an increase at some properties might come at the expense of another, they said.

Greg Hall, an architect with offices in the Rosemary district, said he hoped any changes would protect property owners who might add density in the future. “I would hope we could find something more equitable than 'first come, first served,' ” he said.

Joel Freedman, a development consultant working with Rosalyne Holdings, said those issues would be addressed in applying for the zoning changes and planning the project. Before Rosalyne Holdings can think of building on the site, they must have amendments to the city plan and zoning code, and that will take months.

After filing an application for those changes by February, the developers will have to see it through the planning board, public hearings, a review by the state government, and the City Commission.

If all goes as they hope, Freedman said, the changes in the Rosemary District could be in place in September and the building project could be underway. Another public hearing will likely be held in April.